Alerus Financial Automates Consumer Loan Process with Cypress Software's Mark IV Platform

Business Wire, Nov 13, 2006

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas -- Alerus Financial of Grand Forks, N.D. has selected Cypress Software Systems LP's Mark IV software to automate its consumer loan application process.

Alerus installed Mark IV at its central consumer underwriting branch in September 2006. Bank officials chose Mark IV to bring speed and reliability to their lending process and ultimately increase customer satisfaction.

"We recently replaced several bank systems and needed loan application automation software that would easily integrate with those systems and bring added consistency to our lending operations," said Karna Loyland, loan products manager at Alerus. "Mark IV from Cypress offered the best combination of functionality and cost. The three-day installation and training was seamless, and we've already witnessed increased speed and reliability over the previous system."

With Cypress' Mark IV platform, lenders take consumer loan applications electronically while interviewing applicants; quickly retrieve credit reports; efficiently review sources of repayment; and deploy their loan policies. Cypress provides these tools to banks and financial institutions with the goal of speeding a quality loan decision back to the applicant.

"Adoption of credit application automation technology is growing at a rapid pace among banks of all asset sizes," said Stephen G. Sargent, president and chief executive officer of Cypress Software Systems. "Alerus Financial should benefit significantly from their Mark IV implementation with faster processing times, greater consistency in underwriting and a more efficient lending process. That ultimately leads to a boost in customer service."

Alerus Financial was founded in 1879 as Bank of Grand Forks, the second bank chartered in the Dakota Territory. After more than a century, Alerus now holds more than $700 million in total assets with more than 350 employees and 12 banking and retirement offices in North Dakota and Minnesota. The bank remains an independent institution, providing local, personal, accessible banking to the communities it serves.

About Alerus Financial

Alerus Financial is an independent, multibillion-dollar financial services company listing total bank assets of $700 million, with another $5.6 billion in trust assets under management and $250 million in brokerage assets. It is one of the largest and oldest independent financial services organizations in the upper Midwest. For more information, visit www.alerusfinancial.com.

About Cypress Software Systems

Headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, USA, Cypress Software Systems, LP is a leading developer of automated credit application decision support technology. Cypress provides community and regional banks, finance companies and credit unions with loan application decision and tracking tools equivalent to those used by the largest national lending institutions. Clients, nationwide and in 16 countries, use the company's flagship products, Mark IV and BizMark, to quickly and consistently process consumer and small commercial loan applications. Cypress Mark IV offers a flexible, risk-based processing approach that includes tracking consumer loan applications from point of entry to point of decision. Cypress' BizMark loan automation software processes commercial loan requests within a customer relationship management environment. Both products may be licensed in the bundled Cypress Suite and are offered in either an application service provider (ASP) or traditional business model. The company's product line also includes AppMark, an ASP-only consumer lending solution for community banks with assets of $200 million or less. Web Site: www.go-cypress.com.